The Guayadeque ravine, in Spanish ''Barranco de Guayadeque'', is a ravine-type valley located on the Spanish municipalities of Ingenio and

Agüimes Agüimes is a Spanish town and municipality in the eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. Presentation Agüimes is situated 5 km from the coast, and 26 km south of the island capi ...

, in the province of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...

on Grand Canary island, off the coast of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. One of the largest ravines on the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

, it is notable for its archaeological remains and for its valuable endemic species of flora and fauna – the latter including one of the largest lizard species. It is also notable for the large quantity of cave houses, including a hermitage and various restaurants dug into the rock.

Description

Located in the south-eastern quarter of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

island, the valley starts at the ''Las Marteles'' crater (at around altitude)''Guayadeque, reserva de la tranquilidad''
("Guayadeque, peace reserve") on the site of the ''Unidad de Patrimonio Histórico del Cabildo de Gran Canaria''. and follows a N-W/S-E direction.Guayadeque valley
on Google maps. It separates the two Spanish municipalities of Ingenio and

, with Agüimes on the south side. The GC-103 road follows the bottom of the valley and the course of the Guayadeque stream, ending at Montaña de las Tierras where are cave-restaurants and cave-homes. On the way the road crosses Bermeja cave, a small settlement up the road from the visitors centre.''Barranco de Guayadeque''
on ''lonelyplanet.com''. Beyond Montaña de las Tierras is a footpath that goes up to the ''Las Marteles'' crater and then joins with the GC-130 road. The valley's sides present over and sometimes difference of altitude.Monument natural: Barranco de Guayadeque

Terraced In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore ...

areas for plantations are characteristic of the valley, where fig trees and almond trees are common. The area's relief was created by volcanic activity and by erosion.''Museo de sitio in Guayadeque''
On ''aguimes.net''. The soil substrate is made of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic rocks.

Etymology

''Guayadeque'', according to Ignacio Reyes, means "tranquil spirit" or "reserve of tranquillity" in pre-Hispanic local language.

Archaeological remains

The site used to be the most populated valley on the island and contains hundreds of caves. All the people who lived there have left many mummies and other burial remains in some caves, well guarded by the difficulty of access of the caves they were left in.Barranco de Guayadeque
on ''spain-grancanaria.com''. These caves include Labour cave ("Cueva Labra"), Numerous caves ("Cuevas Muchas"), Canary Cliff ("Risco del Canario"), Vincent Cliff ("Risco Vincentico"), Black Cliff ("Risco del Negro"), etc... The ravine is thus among the most important pre-historic burial ground of the island. The caves were then used as dwellings, food storage and for fertility rituals. Sometimes burial caves were re-used, in which cases special care was taken to protect the skulls with stonesIn ''Montaña de la Mina ( San Bartolomé, Lanzarote), skulls protected with stones were found in the same circumstances as in Guayadeque valley. and, in Guayadeque, covered with animal skins or covers weaved of reeds. The 19th century saw much devastation from grave plundering; many items found on the site found their way to the Canarian museum of Las Palmas, who bought them. Subsequently, the site was designated as a nature reserve to stop the plundering and other damages. The importance of water courses through the valley is shown by the many remains of water mills. A museum has been built at the beginning of the GC-103 road: the Guayadeque museum – Centre of Archaeological interpretation (Sp.: ''Museo de Guayadeque – Centro de Interpretación Arqueológica''). It shelters an exhibition on human activities in the valley, going back to pre-Hispanic times.

Nature

The ravine is home to more than 80 endemic species, notably the ''

Gallotia stehlini The Gran Canaria giant lizard (''Gallotia stehlini'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is found in the Canary Islands. Etymology The specific name, ''stehlini'', is in honor of Swiss paleontologist Hans Georg Steh ...

'' (Sp. ''Lagarto Canarión''), the largest species of lizards in Europe and Africa that can reach in length. The vegetation include elements of

thermophile A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though they can be bacteria or fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earl ...

woodland and uncommon vegetal species, both meeting on the steep slopes. Such are for example '' canariensis''''Escobilla''
an
''Escobilla de Guayadeque'', p. 50
on ''grancanaria.com''. ''Escobilla'' is the Spanish common name of '' Kunkeliella canariensis'', a plant endemic to the Guayadeque valley and present only there. (in Sp. ''escobilla de Guayedeque''), a plant of the sandalwood family,''Monumentos Naturales – Barranco de Guayadeque''
on ''jardincanario.org''. '' Helianthemum tholiforme'', ''

Polycarpaea filifolia ''Polycarpaea'' is a genus of plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. The genus was named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1792. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the genus is polyphyletic and needs to be redefined. It falls into three dis ...

'' (Sp. ''pataconejo fina'') and many other plants endemic to the island.

Demographics

The population of Guayadeque valley is reduced, but clusters remain. One cluster is ''Cueva Bermeja'' ("Red Cave"), a small hamlet that owes its name to the colour of the stone. The other is "Las Tierras Mountains", the site of ''Los Marteles'' , site of the Saint John-the-Baptist hermitage. In both clusters services, restaurants, souvenir shops exist and one can savour a wine typical of the area, as well as fried pork meat and Canarian wrinkly potatoes.

Protection

Guayadeque valley was listed on June 21, 1991 as Spanish Heritage site as a Site of cultural interest in the category "Archaeological site" regulated by the Law of Historical Heritage of the Canaries. The royal decree 126/1991 was published in the ''Boletín Oficial de Cantabria'' on the following July 12.Royal decree 126/1991 in the ''Boletín Oficial de Cantabria''
It has also been declared a Natural Monument by the Law on Natural Areas of the Canaries,
on ''grancanaria.com''. and is registered on the list of the European Heritage network of natural countrysides, as troglodyte zone.

Access

The GC-103 road that follows the bottom of the valley starts in

from the GC-100 road that goes south to ArinagaArinaga is located in the main industrial zone of Canaries and is one of the major ports of Spain. The GC-100 road starts nearby the Punta de Arinaga Lighthouse. and north to Mercalaspalmas through Ingenio, Cuatro Puertas and Telde. A visitors centre is open from Tuesday to Sunday all year round, located in a cave at the entrance of the valley.

Gallery

Barranco Guayadeque hacia la isla.JPG, Barranco de Guayadeque 2016 04.jpg, Barranco de Guayadeque 2016 07.jpg, Chiesa grotta.jpg, Casa cueva.jpg, Guayadeque, riachuelo.jpg, Barranco de Guayadeque 2016 05.jpg, Barr Gueyadeque kz4.JPG, Babel Mountain - WLE Spain 2015.jpg,

Notes

References

External links

*
List of archaeological Heritage sites, Grand Canary
* On local flora and fauna: **
C-19 – Monumento Natural del barranco de Guayadeque
**
''Flora exclusiva de Gran Canaria en peligro''
("Endangered flora of Gran canaria") {{Gran Canaria Caves of the Canary Islands History of the Canary Islands Landforms of Gran Canaria Archaeological sites in Gran Canaria Prehistoric sites in Spain Agricultural buildings in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Las Palmas Tourist attractions in the Canary Islands